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PPK vert 4 plant 5 light grow show and DIY, 3400w, CO2

Desert Hydro

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my "local" hydro shop is 3 hours away, thats why lol. one of the benefits of this system is that you can source everything locally even if you dont have a hydro store.
 

Desert Hydro

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i think i am about 3 weeks out. some of the hairs are starting to turn and they are getting caked in resin. they seem more resinous this run unless i am just imagining it. probably just because of how massive and ridiculous they are haha. trimming should be easy with these ladies.
 

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Desert Hydro

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so i got the OK from the owner to go big or go home. getting rid of the tents and gonna set up the whole 20x30 area for trees! minus a 10x10 area for my veg tent of course.

the plan is that we have all this space we arent taking advantage of and we want to get the most out of our space. no more tents. no more worries about heat. just AC and CO2 ftw! i was gonna build another PPK but i am not sure if i want to because i will need something bulletproof simple that my partner cant fuck up if i am away for a while.

with that being said i plan on running the remainder of my 12 plants in large containers of coco and do 4 per 1k. i figure she cant possibly fuck up the advanced nutrients coco line as its just 10mls of each per gal with no ph'ing to worry about. i will set up a pressure regulated drip system on a cycle timer and let it run wild. her 12 plants will be set up the same way. theres no way i can trust her to upkeep a ppk when she cant even hardly tie her own shoes lol.

anyways, here are some shots from tonight. things are looking good. gonna cut the calnit and run only the 5-12-26 from here on out. i will keep you guys posted as it unfolds. cant wait to bonsai hero the shit out of these bitches :)
 

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Desert Hydro

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i just figured out that they are at about day 40 of flower. 25 more days until i go all lumberjack on them. there are some STALKS down there in the bushes epicenter lol. they are huge.

i may try and expand up this ppk rather than build a second one but i am not too sure at the moment. ive also been looking at D9's setup with the 2 rows of plants the lights down the middle. from there it will just take a TON of training and tie downs to get them to a 2 dimensional wall of vertical buds.
 

Mister_D

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As opposed to? Doesn't seem like anyone is having a hard time "gettin it" I only see questions asked due to interests in achieving similar results.

I didn't mean it in the sense you are referring. I was complimenting DH on his ability to apply "the rules" for proper returns :biggrin:.
 

Desert Hydro

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i did a complete res flush right now. i thought it was gonna be a real pain but i just disconnected my pump and hooked it up to a garden hose and shot it down a toilet. i refilled the res with the 5-12-26 base nutrient to 600ppm. no more added nitrogen from here on out so they can yellow up nicely. i plan on giving them a nice solid flush for at least a few days. i dont think it will take much longer than that since they are flooded every 90 min so they will constantly be getting rinsed with RO water.

gonna start researching a good way to do coco trees vert since thats the only method i can trust the other member not to fuck up(hopefully). most of mine will still be ppk's but i think i may run 4 in coco with big tubs and see how they compare to the ppk's.
on the coco i am just gonna run the AN coco formula bare bones and see what happens.
 

Mister_D

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i did a complete res flush right now. i thought it was gonna be a real pain but i just disconnected my pump and hooked it up to a garden hose and shot it down a toilet. i refilled the res with the 5-12-26 base nutrient to 600ppm. no more added nitrogen from here on out so they can yellow up nicely. i plan on giving them a nice solid flush for at least a few days. i dont think it will take much longer than that since they are flooded every 90 min so they will constantly be getting rinsed with RO water.

gonna start researching a good way to do coco trees vert since thats the only method i can trust the other member not to fuck up(hopefully). most of mine will still be ppk's but i think i may run 4 in coco with big tubs and see how they compare to the ppk's.
on the coco i am just gonna run the AN coco formula bare bones and see what happens.

Gravity fed DTW has been working wonders for me. Just need a big res, a solenoid, timer, and some hose. Depending on the size of your res you could leave and not have to worry about feeding getting done at least. Though if you're automating the feed system anyway, why does it matter if it's coco or ppk?
 

Desert Hydro

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idk if it does or not but my "partner" and i say that as loosly as possible ius pretty incompetent. she isnt really a partner but more of a person who gives me the site to grow if i help her with hers. fair enough except she hasnt put in more that 2 hours of time in over 2 crops and as you all know life is busy and we cant always watch ours as well as someone elses grow as well. i am one person, sometimes i need help. she will not and i am not allowed to have anyone else there. rant over.

i just figured coco with ph perfect nutrients on a timer/drip system is bulletproof enough for her to watch over when i cant be there.
 

FlowerFarmer

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I'm there as well.

Water only soil mix... crop still fails. WTF!?! I can't pass all the blame..things did get a little hot, but I'm pretty sure there were more important things to do some nights then water.. who knows.

I've ran a few remote spots with female "caretakers". Blumats + coco with Maxibloom (at the time). I'd do the initial setup of the blumats. Their only responsibility is to add this pre-measured bag of maxibloom to this trash can full of RO... let it mix and dissolve for a bit and pump it to this trash can which feeds the blumats. Done.

I know many had their troubles with blumats. I've never had a problem using 48+ of them in 2 Gal Smart Pots with Atami coco (dial to cling + 1 arrow). Tell the "caretaker" to take a look every day. Call me if anything goes limp or you see any water on the floor.


Not sure why you don't wanna go PPK though. About as bullet proof as it gets with very little input.

1) Add this premeasured Jacks to this barrel... wait while it dissolves.
2) Add this premeasured CalNit to the barrel.... wait until it dissolves.
3) Pump it over to this Bulk Res.
4) Don't touch anything else. Call me immediately if there is ever water on the floor.

I don't have a ton of experience in PPK yet, but once it's on a recycling timer I noticed everything is pretty much hands off and stable.



Those are the routes I'm going from now on except I'll be even further removing the "help". Just live above it and get a cut. I'll stop over once a week to top off. Horizontal + trellised in the remote grows..no vertical.

That said.. I've lost my last 2 tent crops in a similar situation to what you're describing. Thought I'd keep it even simpler then my normal blumat routine and just allow the caretaker to earn her keep by hitting the plants with straight RO (PureKnowledge's Soil Mix). No cigar... everything ends up in the hash pile. Too hot? Missed waterings? Overwatering and allow the plants to sit in run-off? No idea.

I'm with you. No tents.. either I'm sealing it up proper with split ac/co2 or I'm not wasting my capital. Blumats or PPKs... although I might experiment with some top feed RW 6x6 on tables. Ive got a mother in a 4x4 RW hand fed with Jacks and it's flawless in health. I'm curious if 6"x6" Rockwool can be fed via blumats.. otherwise some gravity DTW w/ solenoids will be tested. Rockwool is clean and lightweight..making it simple to get in the house discreetly.


Best of luck DH. I know exactly what you're going through.
Partner is no longer the deal.. they just merely take the risk of living above it and enjoy the benefits. Unfortunate as it is, I've found to eliminate expectations of people and I won't be let down/disappointed. It's working that way.

Automate.. put the proper systems in place and there simply isn't a need for any help. They can help by trimming and keeping watch over the premises. Otherwise resent builds and friendships/relationships are ruined.
 
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SRGB

Member

Mister_D:

Though if you're automating the feed system anyway, why does it matter if it's coco or ppk?


Desert Hydro:

idk if it does or not but my "partner" and i say that as loosly as possible ius pretty incompetent. she isnt really a partner but more of a person who gives me the site to grow if i help her with hers. fair enough except she hasnt put in more that 2 hours of time in over 2 crops and as you all know life is busy and we cant always watch ours as well as someone elses grow as well. i am one person, sometimes i need help. she will not and i am not allowed to have anyone else there. rant over.

i just figured coco with ph perfect nutrients on a timer/drip system is bulletproof enough for her to watch over when i cant be there.


Hi, Mister_D. Hi, Desert Hydro.

There might be a number of threads at ICMAG in which the gardener began a season with a fresh brick, bag or bale of coco coir, and fresh nutrient solution, which at some point the gardener perceived or observed some form of`deficiency` or `issue`, even with drain to waste methods. The occurences might have ensued due to any number of variables, yet some may have occurred due to the inherent physical and chemical properties of and wide range of consistencies of coco coir that gardeners may acquire.

What might also be considered when selecting a medium, especially for a larger garden, with possibly larger containers, is the post-season effort required to either remediate for re-use or pitch the coco coir. With smaller container, the effort and resources might be negligible, but with several large containers of coco coir, to manage in some way, the difference between coco coir and inert rocks as a medium might be noticeable to the gardener.

The soilless gardener might consider either perlite, pumice, or pea gravel as a medium to substitute for coco coir. The inert properties of the medium, generally, permit immediate reuse post-season, whereas coco coir might require reconditioning or even discarding, due to the possible build up of compounds within the coco coir.

During experiments with SRBGB`s, we employed both actively recirculating and passive methods. Either might work well with inert mediums, whether delivered through a pump with feed lines, or simply hand watered.

We also found inert rocks to be posses greater capacity for oxygen channels within the media; especially within the center of the media bulk, where compaction might occur. A 20 gallon SRBGB filled with coco coir and saturated could easily weight over 80 lbs. A 20 gallon SRBGB filled with perlite might weigh substantially less, even at saturation, due to its draiange properties. Either could be placed onto a flat dolly prior to commencing the season, to be able to move the larger containers around, if desired.

The difference between automated or manual feeds might be largely preference and, or circumstance. We found no fundamental differences in growth between hand watering and a 24/7 top-feed in 20 gallon SRBGB`s filled with pumice and perlite. When filled with coco coir, the watering required was much less, either pumped or handwatered, due to coco coir holding water in its center mass, especially in larger containers.

In any event, we found with 20 gallon SRBGB`s filled with pumice, or a mix of perlite and pumice, that watering could be accomplished by simply hand watering once per day at roughly 1 gallon per day. That amount was determined by the rate at which the run-off was uptaken or evaporated from the previous day. Some cultivar might only require 1 gallon per day, other 1.5 gallons, or even 2 gallons.

The exact amount required can be calculated, which we attempt to describe for replication at the article we posted `Drain To No Waste Methods`. The essential principle was to maximize efficiency, and generate little to zero waste of either medium, nutrient solution or applied water.

The brief version, for larger plants, at least what we found during experiments with Square Root® Garden Bags, was to fill a 10 or 20 gallon SRBGB with pumice, place the SRBGB into a larger basin, and top-feed only until minimal run-off. The roots grew through the SRBGB into the shallow run-off solution below, and, generally, consumed virtually the total amount of water or nutrients provided the previous day, leaving only a damp to shallow level of run-off in the external basin - essentially permitting a `fresh` solution to be delivered every 24 hrs.

Roots continued to grow through the walls and bottom of the SRBGB into the external basin, fully exposed to environmental air, without need of mechanical aeration. Some illustrations of the methods are posted at the article we referenced above. Simply put, relevant to a garden with larger plants or trees, a gardener could hand water approximately 1 gallon once per day, achieving the same or similar results as automated nutrient delivery. The process could be accomplished through some form of gravity feed, if applicable. Perhaps a very simple and consistently replicatible approach to soilless gardening.

We attempted to effective limit waste of water, nutrients, and nutrient solution to zero, and further post-season management by selecting inert media that could be immediately reused.

We did these experiments with SRBGB`s for the same purpose, to be able to effectively limit the efforts involved in post-season manangement of rigid container, where the SRBGB could simply be emptied of media, small particles shaken off, and placed into a washing machine for reuse.

Coco coir drain to waste might certainly work, with any number of nutrients. If a gardener were to review several random threads at ICMAG relevant to coco coir, they might find the gardener with the most consistent success might have previously attempted several seasons with coco coir, prior to finding _their own_ formulas for success.

If a gardener were to, perhaps, experiment and compare a single pumice based unit next to a coco coir unit, over several season, they might observe the effort of each to manage, remediate and reuse. The gardener may find the inert rocks generally more versatile when experimenting with different methods (especially with regard to drainage, if actively recirculating nutrients on a timed interval or constantly), and far simpler for prospective immediate rinsing and reuse.

We post this not to point to Square Root® Garden Bags and the drain to no waste method that we described, but to perhaps convey to the soilless gardener that, within the bounds of the individual gardeners` own prefernces, there might be variables that could be reduced to null, or converted into a reusable resource, minimizing potential input and out waste within and derived from the system. Whether the medium be coco coir drain to waste or pumice in an SRBGB watered once per day, there might still be variables that could be simplified for consistent replication with minimalization of variation between season and limiting of potential issues - by defining what the gardener is actually attempting to achieve or may be practically capable of achieving before a season were begin.

Awareness of the input - and residual output - variables of a given medium or system, and arranging the season to manage those variables to eventually create radiant blossoms, fruit and vegetables or bonsai might be a fundamental joy of gardening, to which there might be no limit to the possible expressions of that very human and earthly joy; both of the cultivar and of the human.

In any event, we hope that this post might be helpful.

Best,
/SRGB/
 

Desert Hydro

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thanks both of you. there is a lot to think about. the coco i was gonna use was recycled but was sitting in a trash can with holes on the bottom and every night when my patio drippers come on it has a few drippers in the can to rinse the coco over the last few months. should be flushed by now i would hope or it may be even worse with my shitty tap water lol.

i put a few disposable plants in the coco to see how they do. if there is any problems i will pull the plug on the coco.

FF- i could very well run all PPK's and that would be ideal for me. they are pretty bulletproof. i did my first res change since its creation the other night lol. they are the biggest healthiest plants i have ever seen in person. it shocks my buddy who worked at a couple CO grows. i think i will build a couple more PPK's for myself but there is NO WAY IN HELL i am gonna build her a badass system just so she can disappear and have me do all the work because when it comes down to it she knows i wont let hers fail. im trapped lol.

i think i am gonna do two rows of plants with the lights down the middle. it makes more sense for my space and it will be easier for me to build the ppk. i will also have to attach the plant to some sort of support so they can be trained flat for the lights.

even just typing that last sentence i am fearing how much work that will be tying and training all those plants. i have some things to research over the next couple days.

here are some shots from just now. they are about 25 days out. ive cut most the N so we should start seeing autumn colors soon :)
 

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Desert Hydro

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after really looking at these pics i remember another reason i love this strain. barely any trim work at all! i could probably just pluck the fans by hand and not get any sideways looks on the finished product lol. feel free to go get yourself some CGS chemmy jones and join in on my happiness.

im headed out west to pick up some FIRE OG cuts to get my next round rocking. the description from the club says it yields ~600gm/m2 so im thinking it should be right about the same as this chemmy. i cant wait! ive never run any OG before.
 

Desert Hydro

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close ups of the AK's in the other tent that arent mine. they are super frosty but they were so lanky and weak stemmed. falling over like mad. as you can see there are plenty of white flies. not nearly as much air flow in this tent so its easy for them to get a foothold. my tent is like a mini tornado so the little bastards just get sucked out lol. most of these will be coming down soon except for the really sativa leaning one in the last pic. damn that one is super frosty!
 

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Desert Hydro

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i told my wife we were going on a shopping spree. this isnt what she expected lol.

got my tubs on order. gonna order some bottom buckets as well while im at it. then i just need a couple 4 way hose splitters and im all set.
 

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Desert Hydro

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sweet little chemmy nug dangling off the cage just wanted to be photographed. i brushed up against it while navigating in the tent and now my clothes stink so good
 

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Mister_D

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sweet little chemmy nug dangling off the cage just wanted to be photographed. i brushed up against it while navigating in the tent and now my clothes stink so good

I had a similar experience with mine. Now there's 64 of them in the rack room, and life is good :biggrin:

picture.php
 

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